The Root

Spike Lee has undoubtedly inspired many up-and-coming black filmmakers; specifically, his role in the independent film circuit and his penchant for addressing race relations in a no-nonsense way has earned him critical acclaim and respect. Much like celebrities who have such a strong personality that they are perfect…Read more...

Kentucky police are “investigating” a video of a local physician defending his community by wrapping his hands around a teenage girl’s throat in an apparent attempt at teaching her a very valuable lesson about social distancing. While the culprit’s violent reaction may have violated black America’s common-law…Read more...

The Trump administration has more employee turnover than a traveling carnival.Read more...

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the United States, there have been more and more calls for data to be released detailing the racial disparity in cases and care. In New York City, that data will hopefully be released sooner rather than later.

Remember how it was such a big deal when Neo (Keanu Reeves) finally realized he was “The One” in The Matrix? Take all of the power and acclaim from that feeling, replace it with patronizing stereotypes, add a dash of microaggression and you have, “The Black One,” also known as the Token Black Friend.Read more...

Longtime Georgia Congressman John Lewis has been a steady presence in the midst of a storm more than a few times in his life. On Tuesday, the revered civil rights icon and politician endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, telling reporters, “he will help us regain our way as a nation and as a people.”Read more...

Actress, writer and overall busy bee Issa Rae graces the April cover of Teen Vogue, where she discusses Insecure’s highly-anticipated return, her blossoming film career, and more. Much to the chagrin of its fans, the beloved HBO series––which kicks off its fourth season on Sunday, April 12––has been on hiatus since…Read more...

COVID-19 has devastated the world and canceled or postponed schooling, sporting events and even our fave girl’s trip festival, but Tiffany Dena Loftin, director of the NAACP Youth & College Division, reminds us that it is our duty to continue to be civically engaged.

As President Trump continues to push the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 symptoms, medical experts remain divided on the use of a drug that has yet to be proven as a safe and effective remedy for the virus. Despite the conflicting narratives, one Democratic state representative appears…Read more...

Saturday Night Live head writer and “Weekend Update” anchor Michael Che took to Instagram to disclose that his grandmother lost her battle with COVID-19. In a two-slide post uploaded on Monday, the comedian wrote that he’s still trying to grapple with his devastating loss.

Picture it: a Sicily-themed nook, where a Becky sits scrolling through her “Turning Lululemons Into Lemonade” Pinterest board with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. All of a sudden, she receives a DM from her girl Karen with an interesting proposition: a hit-for-hit battle on Instagram Live.Read more...

It’s a rare feat to score a spot on the New York Times’ bestseller list with your first book—and even rarer to have your finger on the pulse of a national moment with your second. Michael Arceneaux, author, 2018 Root 100 honoree and occasional contributor to The Root has managed to do both; following the success of…Read more...

R&B fans had laid out their best couch ‘fits for the latest Instagram Live musician match-up, Teddy Riley vs. Babyface. The event was supposed to take place on Sunday, April 5, one day after the highly-viewed T-Pain/Lil Jon battle, however, it was announced that morning that the battle was postponed.

The founder and publisher of Black Enterprise, Earl Gilbert Graves Sr., was an internationally recognized authority on black-owned businesses, a guru for African-American entrepreneurs and a tireless advocate for black business and consumer power. Graves died Monday night at the age of 85 after a long battle with…Read more...

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While most of the media coverage regarding Netflix’s Tiger King has focused on the plight of Joe Exotic and his cast of characters, Senior Writer Michael Harriot scored an exclusive interview with one of the seemingly forgotten victims of the limited docuseries that has taken the country by storm.Read more...

Hamilton Beach 7-Quart Slow Cooker | $39 | AmazonRead more...

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, one of the places that are being most affected are jails and prisons. They are also the places most likely to be overlooked in the government’s horribly mismanaged response efforts.Read more...

In today’s “Y’all’s president be wilding” news, Donald Trump shows us that he’s a lot of things, but a medical professional is not one of them.Read more...

Tyler Perry’s new BET+ show may be “Ruthless,” but his recent act of charity was the very opposite.

You really don’t need me to give you the customary “yo this pandemic shit is crazy” intro. At this point, I’m sure you’ve realized that this pandemic shit is indeed crazy. What’s even crazier is that cops have still found a way to keep with the bullshit, even as people are doing their best to keep themselves safe.

Since couch clubs and concerts have become a thing in recent weeks, one element we could use a lot more of is live instrumentation.Read more...

Coronavirus was meant to be the “great equalizer,” according to pundits, public officials and a few errant celebrities, but its impact has been anything but equal. Across the country, black people have been contracting the virus and dying from its complications at higher rates. And protective measures put in place to…Read more...

For every melanated individual over the age of 35, Sunday night was slated to be the music version of boxing’s “Rumble In The Jungle,” the spectacular fight between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali in Kinshasha, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), in October 1974—arguably the greatest sporting event of…Read more...

NFL Hall of Famer and former Washington Redskins player Bobby Mitchell, the first black player for the franchise, passed away Sunday at the age 84, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.Read more...

Wow. Two explainers in one day? I thought you retired these years ago?Read more...

As the child of Jamaican immigrants, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to trek across New York City to attend one of the most exclusive high schools in the country (Stuyvesant High School), and one of the country’s best historically black colleges (Hampton University). After serving as an Air Force…Read more...

Last month, actress and COVID-19 survivor Rita Wilson impressed fans with her quarantined rendition of the Naughty by Nature classic “Hip Hop Hooray,” which she rapped bar-for-bar on Instagram. Today, it was announced that she and the New Jersey rap legends will be joining forces on a remix of the song in order to…Read more...

Despite President “China Virus’” ‘insistence that the NFL season should start on time, there’s this thing called the COVID-19—perhaps you’ve heard of it?—that’s doing everything humanly possible to disrupt those plans.Read more...

What is a Bubble Guppy?Read more...

The first jail inmate to test positive for COVID-19 at Rikers Island, Michael Tyson, died on Sunday. According to multiple people familiar with Tyson’s case, he contracted and died from the disease while awaiting a hearing on a parole violation.Read more...

Listen, we’re all itching to go back to our old reality and ditch the coronavirus craziness, so if you’re losing your mind, you’re not alone. For many of us, heading to the salon and tackling our hairstylists with a running-start hug before they work their magic is first on our to-do list when society opens back up. B…Read more...

Naomi tried to tell us...and if we’d listened, maybe we wouldn’t all be self-isolating right now. Some considered the legendary supermodel paranoid when she showed off her fastidiously protective in-flight pre-cleaning routine on her Being Naomi YouTube channel last July. Nine months later, the fashion icon, activist…Read more...

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You would think that after Gov. Brian Kemp caught America’s collective side-eye when he revealed that he’d recently learned that asymptomatic people can still spread the coronavirus, he would be trying to keep his head low and avoid making any decisions that could even be perceived as reckless in this time of crisis.…Read more...

We have more news of celebrities going beyond empty platitudes by using their financial privilege to pay it forward.Read more...

Much like everyone else at the moment, The Roots have a lot of time on their hands.Read more...

The Last O.G. is back and Season 3 kicks off with the season premiere titled, “Lookin’ at the Front Door” where, after a failed food truck business, Tray (Tracy Morgan) is on the hunt for his own place (since he really can’t take living with his mama, portrayed by Anna Marie Horsford, anymore).

The music world is still mourning the loss of the incomparable Bill Withers. The soul singer passed away March 30 from heart complications at the age of 81. In a statement, the “Ain’t No Sunshine” musician’s family said: “As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to…Read more...

In news that shouldn’t be surprising to anyone, black and brown workers were disproportionately hit by job losses last month, according to a report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).Read more...

Two days after Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach posted an offensive meme of an elderly woman knitting a noose, defensive tackle Fabien Lovett announced in a tweet that he will be transferring from the university, USA Today reports.

A sale on Disney steelbooks, 25% Nike shoes, a cheap gaming mouse, animal duvets, and more lead the pack of top Sunday deals.

Remember the Detroit bus driver who went off in a Facebook video on a woman who was coughing on his bus? On Wednesday, just two weeks after the incident, the driver, Jason Hargrove, died from COVID-19, according to the Detroit News.

The Jordan Peele-penned reboot of the 1992 horror film Candyman has been postponed to September 25, nearly three months after its original release date in June, Variety reports.Read more...

Nearly three months after the passing of Kobe Bryant, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Saturday that the Laker legend will join Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tamika Catchings, and others as new inductees, the Washington Post reports.

One of the more insidious bits of misinformation in the early days of the pandemic was the idea that black people were somehow, as if by magic, immune to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Not only was that rumor grossly inaccurate, a new report reveals that black people are getting hit by the disease at…Read more...

A PUR buy 2 get 1 sale, free children’s books and classic literature, bamboo toothbrushes, a deal on refurbished security systems, and more top the list for Saturday’s best deals.Read more...

So recent events have left a good chunk of us with an ungodly amount of free time. Weeks have felt like years. You’ve probably gotten through Tiger King, caught up on your shows and you might have already even finally beat those games you got over Christmas (me). If you’re looking for something new to kill time, might…Read more...

$5 Movies All Weekend | VuduRead more...

Another week has flown by, which means it’s time for another trailer roundup!Read more...